Big Data and analytics (BDA) are transforming businesses, giving managers access to analyses, often in real time, that would previously have been very difficult to obtain. According to IDC's "Worldwide Semiannual Big Data and Analytics Spending Guide" study, investment in big data and business analytics solutions is expected to reach 260 billion dollars in 2022, representing growth of 11.9% between 2017 and 2022.

The sectors investing most in this type of technology are banking, manufacturing, services and the public sector, accounting for almost half of BDA revenue in 2018. However, those that will drive the fastest growth in the adoption of these solutions are retail (13.5%), banking (13.2%) and services (12.9%).

Most companies are adopting BDA technology to bring the physical and virtual worlds together. However, this goal varies by sector: in banking and retail, for example, investment in BDA aims to optimise business management and revitalise the customer experience; in manufacturing, "companies are essentially reinventing themselves as high-tech companies, using their products as a platform to enable and deliver digital services", highlights Jessica Goepfert, program vice-president, Customer Insights & Analysis at IDC.

What is Big Data?

A study carried out by SINTEF concluded that 90% of all the data in the world was created in the last two years. Big Data refers to the vast amount of data that exists today, made possible by the technological developments of recent years and the multiplication of interconnected sensors and devices. When combined with business analytics tools, it becomes possible to access dashboards and carry out data analyses in just a few seconds that would previously have taken a long time to complete.

PowerBI: Analytics within reach of SMEs

Microsoft Power BI is a business analytics tool that combines Business Intelligence, Big Data and Analytics to create interactive dashboards with intuitive visual analysis of the main business KPIs. With Power BI, it is possible to create and access data analyses anywhere and at any time, since it is a cloud-based technology.

Power BI ensures that every detail of Big Data is properly analysed and turned into qualitative information that is relevant to decision-making.

Benefits of PowerBI

• Higher return per employee;
• Access to up-to-date organisational data at any time and from any location;
• Easy access to and interpretation of data gives employees autonomy;
• Effective connection between people and information;
• Greater capacity for strategic alignment;
• Support for strategic planning;
• Increased competitiveness.

Openlimits, as a Microsoft partner holding the Gold Application Development, Gold Midmarket Cloud Solutions and Small Business Specialist certifications, has numerous success stories implementing Power BI in Portuguese SMEs, for example Mistolin, the largest Portuguese company of own-brand products and the largest manufacturer of detergents for the professional market.

According to Luís Catela, Chief Operating Officer of the MSTN Group, "giving every member of the organisation mobile access to information was undoubtedly one of the factors that accelerated our ability to generate business". Using the Microsoft Power BI solution also enabled "integrated analysis of information and faster decision-making".

Written by:
Openlimits

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